Ron Gardenhire popped out of the dugout with one out and one on in the top of the eighth inning Saturday. Scott Baker had thrown 111 pitches, but the Twins righthander eyed his manager's demeanor -- and realized that the hook had been left next to the hotline to the bullpen.
It wasn't Gardenhire's typical slow, deliberate walk.
"I kind of knew he was going to talk to me and see how I was feeling in that situation," Baker said. "And I felt great."
Gardenhire made sure Baker was up for the key moment in the game, a 1-0 victory over San Diego that was the Twins' sixth victory in a row. He also needed to know how the Twins were going to pitch Chris Denorfia, who had two hits in the game.
"I wanted to make sure we had a plan," Gardenhire said.
Gardenhire left the mound, and a packed Target Field cheered. Baker got Denorfia to ground out to third and Jason Bartlett to ground out to short to end the inning.
Matt Capps cleaned up with a 1-2-3 ninth as the Twins won for the 13th time in 15 games. Danny Valencia's second-inning homer provided the only run. The Twins have won their past five one-run games and won by a 1-0 score for the fourth time this season.
Thanks to a strong starting rotation, the Twins have won despite not consistently executing on offense and occasionally struggling on defense. A Twins starter has pitched at least eight innings in four of the past five games. Twins starters have a 1.73 ERA since June 2.
Baker gave up four hits, walked one and struck out 10 -- the third time in his career he has had double-digit strikeouts. He worked around Denorfia's game-opening triple by striking out Bartlett and Chase Headley and getting Ryan Ludwick to fly out.
Baker finished with 115 pitches in front of an announced crowd of 40,225. It was the latest example of Gardenhire letting a starter's pitch count run deeper this season.
Nick Blackburn threw 127 pitches May 24 in a 4-2, complete-game victory over Seattle. Francisco Liriano threw 123 pitches May 3 in his no-hitter at Chicago. Carl Pavano has thrown 115, 114 and 112 pitches in recent outings.
The starters have been asked to go longer in part because of the struggles of their relievers. The Twins have needed time to sort the bullpen out, a process that is ongoing.
"There, for a while, [pitching coach Rick Anderson] had been getting the whole bullpen up at once," Gardenhire said before the game. "Using the other team's mounds, too."
Quizzed about letting starters pitch deeper into games, Gardenhire said: "We definitely said we have to give these guys a chance here. If they are throwing the ball really good, give them a more of a chance to let them get through another inning, so we don't have so many innings out of the bullpen."
Although Twins relievers have pitched better lately, their 4.89 ERA entering Saturday was still the highest in baseball.
"I'm sure there were times when I would have come out in the seventh inning," Baker said. "I don't think it had to do with how other guys are throwing. I think it's just a matter of extending the starters out like we are capable of throwing."
